UrbanSense gathers together 5G testbeds in Helsinki

UrbanSense gathers 5G testbeds together and creates excellent conditions for developing both network and service businesses in Helsinki. The UrbanSense project will use the 5G network to transfer real-time data about air quality. From the perspective of business, 5G offers many application opportunities.

The 5G network offers companies new business opportunities, regardless of their field. 5G benefits all companies who get added value or improved performance from increased data transfer capacity, minimal delays, reliable connections and the potential to grow the number of connected devices and reduce their energy consumption.

In the UrbanSense project that will start this summer, the University of Helsinki will build a 5G test environment at the Kumpula campus. The new technology will be used to observe the urban environment and enable further product development by companies. In addition to 5G, the University will also study the real-time and precise monitoring of air quality using new sensor technology.

Test networks and collaboration with companies

Besides the 5G test network at the Kumpula campus, Forum Virium Helsinki and the Economic Development Division of the City of Helsinki will also promote the building of new 5G test networks elsewhere in Helsinki. The goal is to increase the local business ecosystem’s preparedness to use 5G before commercial operators start offering 5G networks on a more extensive scale. Both the network and device providers and the network users can benefit from these undertakings. Innovative ways to use the network will be supported through different means, such as experimental procurements. Several companies have already partnered with the project, and business workshops where companies can join the project will start in the autumn.

In the UrbanSense project, the University of Helsinki will lead research related to 5G network technologies, as well as experiments where large amounts of data, such as real-time information about air quality, are transferred via the network. A next-generation network environment and a large capacity for data transfer are also requirements for the breakthrough of automated traffic.

UrbanSense is a collaboration between Forum Virium Helsinki, the University of Helsinki and the Economic Development Division of the City of Helsinki. The project will last two years. The Economic Development Division of the City of Helsinki has funded the project from its innovation fund.